Data usage monitoring

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for capturing and monitoring the health, safety, and/or activity of a user are described. In one aspect, the system generates a data usage pattern for the user and monitors the user&#39;s current data usage activity to detect data usage deviations from the user&#39;s usage pattern. When a deviation is detected, the system may send an alert message to the user or another user indicating that an anomaly may have occurred, permitting the user or another user to respond to the anomaly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/606,069, filed Sep. 7, 2012 and entitled “Data UsageMonitoring.” The prior application is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

BACKGROUND

As the global population ages, more and more individuals choose to liveindependently at home, often without the aid of caregivers, such asfamily members, who can be there to notice problems when they arise.There remains a need, however, to maintain monitoring even in theabsence of a caregiver, or when monitoring and/or oversight areunavailable.

SUMMARY

Some of the various features described herein relate to a system andmethod for storing a data (or device) usage (e.g., consumption) patternfor a user, the pattern identifying data/devices accessed by the userand a corresponding expected time of access indicator for the accesseddata/device. The user's current data/device usage and a current timeindicator may be compared with the pattern. In some aspects, the systemand method may determine that the user's current data/device usagedeviates from the user's data/device usage pattern, such as by apredetermined amount. In response to determining that the user's currentdata/device usage deviates from the user's data/device usage pattern, analert may be sent to a device.

This summary is not intended to identify critical or essential featuresof the disclosures herein, but instead merely summarizes certainfeatures and variations thereof. Other details and features will also bedescribed in the sections that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some features herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information access and distributionnetwork.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware and software platform on whichthe various elements described herein can be implemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method of configuring data according toone or more illustrative aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method of configuring alerts according toone or more illustrative aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method of monitoring according to one ormore illustrative aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example method of monitoring according to oneor more illustrative aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method of sending alerts according to oneor more illustrative aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method of updating data according to oneor more illustrative aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 9A-C illustrate example data usage patterns according to one ormore illustrative aspects of the disclosure.

FIGS. 10A-B illustrate example time windows for detecting data usagedeviations according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates additional example time windows for detecting datausage deviations according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information access and distributionnetwork 100 on which many of the various features described herein maybe implemented. Network 100 may be any type of information distributionnetwork, such as satellite, telephone, cellular, wireless, etc. Oneexample may be an optical fiber network, a coaxial cable network or ahybrid fiber/coax (HFC) distribution network. Such networks 100 use aseries of interconnected communication links 101 (e.g., coaxial cables,optical fibers, wireless connections, etc.) to connect multiplepremises, such as homes 102, to a local office (e.g., a central officeor headend 103). The local office 103 may transmit downstreaminformation signals onto the links 101, and each home 102 may have areceiver used to receive and process those signals.

There may be one link 101 originating from the local office 103, and itmay be split a number of times to distribute the signal to various homes102 in the vicinity (which may be many miles) of the local office 103.Although the term home is used by way of example, locations 102 may beany type of user premises, such as businesses, institutions, etc. Thelinks 101 may include components not illustrated, such as splitters,filters, amplifiers, etc. to help convey the signal clearly. Portions ofthe links 101 may also be implemented with fiber-optic cable, whileother portions may be implemented with coaxial cable, other links, orwireless communication paths.

The local office 103 may include an interface 104, which may be atermination system (TS), such as a cable modem termination system(CMTS), which may be a computing device configured to managecommunications between devices on the network of links 101 and backenddevices such as servers 105-107 (to be discussed further below). Theinterface may be as specified in a standard, such as, in an example ofan HFC-type network, the Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification(DOCSIS) standard, published by Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.(a.k.a. CableLabs), or it may be a similar or modified device instead.The interface may be configured to place data on one or more downstreamchannels or frequencies to be received by devices, such as modems at thevarious homes 102, and to receive upstream communications from thosemodems on one or more upstream frequencies. The local office 103 mayalso include one or more network interfaces 108, which can permit thelocal office 103 to communicate with various other external networks109. These networks 109 may include, for example, networks of Internetdevices, telephone networks, cellular telephone networks, fiber opticnetworks, local wireless networks (e.g., WiMAX), satellite networks, andany other desired network, and the interface 108 may include thecorresponding circuitry needed to communicate on the network 109, and toother devices on the network such as a cellular telephone network andits corresponding cell phones.

As noted above, the local office 103 may include a variety of servers105-107 that may be configured to perform various functions. Forexample, the local office 103 may include a push notification server105. The push notification server 105 may generate push notifications todeliver data and/or commands to the various homes 102 in the network (ormore specifically, to the devices in the homes 102 that are configuredto detect such notifications). The local office 103 may also include adata server 106. The data server 106 may be one or more computingdevices that are configured to provide data to users in the homes. Thisdata may be, for example, video on demand movies, television programs,songs, text listings, etc. The data server 106 may include software tovalidate user identities and entitlements, locate and retrieve requesteddata, encrypt the data, and initiate delivery (e.g., streaming) of thedata to the requesting user and/or device.

The local office 103 may also include one or more application servers107. An application server 107 may be a computing device configured tooffer any desired service, and may run various languages and operatingsystems (e.g., servlets and JSP pages running on Tomcat/MySQL, OSX, BSD,Ubuntu, Redhat, HTML5, JavaScript, AJAX and COMET). For example, anapplication server may be responsible for collecting data such astelevision program listings information and generating a data downloadfor electronic program guide listings. Another application server may beresponsible for monitoring user viewing habits and collecting thatinformation for use in selecting advertisements. Another applicationserver may be responsible for formatting and inserting advertisements ina video stream being transmitted to the homes 102. And as will bediscussed in greater detail below, another application server may beresponsible for monitoring the data usage habits of an elderly personliving at home alone.

An example home 102 a may include an interface 120. The interface maycomprise a device 110, such as a modem, which may include transmittersand receivers used to communicate on the links 101 and with the localoffice 103. The device 110 may be, for example, a coaxial cable modem(for coaxial cable links 101), a fiber interface node (for fiber opticlinks 101), or any other desired modem device. The device 110 may beconnected to, or be a part of, a gateway interface device 111. Thegateway interface device 111 may be a computing device that communicateswith the device 110 to allow one or more other devices in the home tocommunicate with the local office 103 and other devices beyond the localoffice. The gateway 111 may be a set-top box (STB), digital videorecorder (DVR), computer server, or any other desired computing device.The gateway 111 may also include (not shown) local network interfaces toprovide communication signals to devices in the home, such astelevisions 112, additional STBs 113, personal computers 114, laptopcomputers 115, wireless devices 116 (wireless laptops and netbooks,mobile phones, mobile televisions, personal digital assistants (PDA),etc.), and any other desired devices. Examples of the local networkinterfaces include Multimedia Over Coax Alliance (MoCA) interfaces,Ethernet interfaces, universal serial bus (USB) interfaces, wirelessinterfaces (e.g., IEEE 802.11), Bluetooth interfaces, and others.

FIG. 2 illustrates general hardware and software elements that can beused to implement any of the various computing devices discussed herein.The computing device 200 may include one or more processors 201, whichmay execute instructions of a computer program to perform any of thefeatures described herein. The instructions may be stored in any type ofcomputer-readable medium or memory, to configure the operation of theprocessor 201. For example, instructions may be stored in a read-onlymemory (ROM) 202, random access memory (RAM) 203, hard drive, removablemedia 204, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive, compact disk (CD)or digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk drive, or any other desiredelectronic storage medium. Instructions may also be stored in anattached (or internal) hard drive 205. The computing device 200 mayinclude one or more output devices, such as a display 206 (or anexternal television), and may include one or more output devicecontrollers 207, such as a video processor. There may also be one ormore user input devices 208, such as a remote control, keyboard, mouse,touch screen, microphone, etc. The computing device 200 may also includeone or more network interfaces, such as input/output circuits 209 (suchas a network card) to communicate with an external network 210. Thenetwork interface may be a wired interface, wireless interface, or acombination of the two. In some embodiments, the interface 209 mayinclude a modem (e.g., a cable modem), and network 210 may include thecommunication links 101 discussed above, the external network 109, anin-home network, a provider's wireless, coaxial, fiber, or hybridfiber/coaxial distribution system (e.g., a DOCSIS network), or any otherdesired network.

The system described herein may be used to monitor a user's data (e.g.,content) usage, such as the user's consumption (e.g., viewing) activity,to detect deviations from the user's historical data usage pattern. Acomputing device (such as a computing device 200 located at local office103 or home 102 a) may track the user's data usage over a period of timeand generate a data usage pattern for the user. Usage may be tracked forvarious devices, including data access devices (e.g., STBs, gatewaydevices, etc.), devices configured to display data, such as content(e.g., televisions, computers, portable devices, such as smartphones,etc.), and other devices. The tracked usage or data information mayidentify data volume (e.g., number of bytes of data uploaded,downloaded, or both combined per hour), direction (e.g., number ofupload requests per hour, or number of download requests per hour),specific data (e.g., visits to a predetermined Internet web page, orviewing of video data such as television programs, on demand videos,etc.), devices used (e.g., a smart phone, tablet, computer, set-top-box,etc.), and one or more corresponding times of day for each expectedusage.

These devices and other devices may be capable of functioning as bothdata access devices and display devices, such as a mobile phone thatpulls content from the web and displays the content on its display or atelevision with a built-in data access device, like a receiver. Theuser's data usage pattern may be used to detect deviations in the user'sdata usage activity. For example, the computing device may monitor theuser's present data usage and compare the usage to the user's historicalpattern, which may indicate the user's expected data usage. If themonitored user normally watches the morning news and checks email for 20minutes each weekday morning, but fails to do so, then the computingdevice may recognize this deviation. When the computing devicedetermines that the user's present data usage deviates from the user'sexpected pattern (e.g., as stored in memory as the user's data usagehistory) by a predetermined amount, the computing device may send analert of an anomaly to device(s) associated with the user and/or otherusers that may be caring for the user (e.g., a caregiver, a familymember, a physician, etc.). By sending alerts, potential problems withthe user (e.g., health, safety, and/or security issues) may be detectedand signaled in order to protect the user. The devices, systems, andmethods for monitoring user data consumption and detecting deviationsmay be part of and/or integrated with a total home solution, such as ahome security system.

One or more devices installed in home 102 a may be used to monitor theuser's data usage and/or detect deviations from the user's pattern. Forexample, a user's viewing activity on a television 112 may be monitoredfor anomalies. Similarly, the user's viewing activity on personalcomputers 114, laptop computers 115, and/or wireless devices 116 may bemonitored for anomalies. By utilizing devices (e.g., contentservice/display/access devices) that might already be installed at theuser's home (e.g., television 112, STB 113, computer 114, etc.) toidentify inconsistencies in the user's activity (including contentconsumption), the physical health, status, safety, etc. of users may bemonitored without installing additional monitoring equipment, such asmotion sensors, pressure sensors, and temperature sensors required instand-alone health monitoring systems. In some embodiments, themonitoring may be performed by a gateway interface device, such as acable modem or router, through which various other devices connect withone or more external networks. The gateway interface device may benefitfrom being a relatively centralized location within a home's datanetwork, making monitoring of data traffic easier. In some embodiments,monitoring software may be loaded in to a cable modem's memory, andexecuted by a cable modem processor, therein requiring minimaladditional installation effort. The monitoring may also be performed atone or more devices at local office 103 (e.g., one or more of the pushserver 105, content server 106, app server 107), within network 109,such as in a cloud network having distributed computing and/or datastorage devices and/or functionalities, or any other device.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example method of configuring a data usagedeviation system according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure. The method may be performed by any monitoring computingdevice, such as a personal computer in the home, the gateway or cablemodem mentioned above, or any other device. In step 305, the computingdevice may perform initialization. Initialization may includeidentifying a user to monitor. For example, a user may indicate interestin being monitored and/or otherwise authorize collection of the user'sdata usage information for monitoring by indicating so via the user'saccount with the entity providing the monitoring service. The computingdevice may also automatically enroll the user for the monitoring serviceand provide the user an option to opt out of the service.

Initialization may also include, for example, a monitoring device at theuser's home 102 (e.g., modem 110, gateway 111, STB 113, etc.) requestingand/or downloading monitoring software from central office 103 (e.g.,from one of servers 105, 106, and/or 107). Software download may beperformed in response to detecting that the user has signed up for themonitoring service, when the user has signed up for another service(e.g., data, telephone, television, etc. service) from the entityproviding the monitoring service, or when the monitoring equipment isinstalled at the home. Alternatively, the monitoring software may bepreloaded on the monitoring device. Thus, when the monitoring device isinstalled at home 102, the monitoring device may begin collecting datausage information from the user's devices and/or from the user's profileas stored at, for example, central office 103 and monitoring fordeviations as will be described in further detail in the examples below.

In steps 310 to 325, the computing device may identify various devicesassociated with the user to monitor. Some user devices may be betterpredictors of user activity than other devices. For example, the user'smobile phone may be a good predictor of user activity because the usermay make and/or receive calls, use mobile applications (e.g., a gameapp, browser app, camera app, etc.), and/or send emails and textmessages on the mobile phone. Other devices and/or activities that alsorely on actual user input or interaction may also be good predictors ofuser activity. For example, the user pressing buttons on a televisionremote control or tuning to a particular channel on the user's STB mayalso be good indicators of user activity. Devices that might not be goodpredictors of user activity may be devices that primarily performautomatic activity. For example, a programmable thermostat, which may beconnected to the same network as the monitoring device (e.g., the cablemodem), may automatically adjust room temperatures based on the user'sprevious settings. Automatic adjusting of room temperatures often doesnot require direct user interaction (after the initial setup oroccasional update). Thus, when programmable thermostats performprimarily automated activities, they might not be good indicators ofuser activity.

In step 310, the computing device may determine whether to monitor theusage of a first device, such as the user's television and/or STB. Theuser may specify the devices to monitor, such as via the user's accountwith the service provider. The user's account interface may includeentry fields to indicate the devices to monitor. For example, the usermay enter a unique identifier for each device to be monitored (e.g., aMAC address or name for a STB). The service provider may already have alist of the user's devices and corresponding unique identifiers. Theuser's devices may be indicated on a pre-populated list on the user'saccount, such as on a pull-down menu. The user may select the devices tobe monitored using the pull-down menu. The devices may be listedseparately on the user account interface with a corresponding userinterface element (e.g., a radio button, check box, etc.) that permitsthe user to select or deselect devices to be monitored/not to bemonitored. While user selection of devices to be monitored has beendescribed using entry by the user, pull-down menus, radio buttons, andcheckboxes, any means of selecting, updating, and/or deselecting devicesto be monitored may be performed as would be readily recognized by oneof ordinary skill in the art.

Additionally or alternatively, the computing device may automaticallyidentify user devices to monitor. For example, the user's devices may beidentified as primarily performing activities that require userinteraction (e.g., a television, television remote control, a mobilephone, etc.) or as primarily performing automated activities that do notrequire user interaction (e.g., a programmable thermostat). Thecomputing device may retrieve a list of device types (e.g., from centraloffice 103) identified as user interaction devices or automated devices.The list may indicate, for example, mobile phones, STBs, televisions,remote controls, and PCs as user interaction devices. The list may alsoindicate, for example, programmable thermostats and digital clocks asautomated devices. The computing device may determine which of theuser's devices are user interaction devices and which are automateddevices. The computing device may determine to monitor devices that are“user interaction devices” (step 310: Yes) and determine not to monitordevices that are “automated devices” (step 310: No).

The computing device may identify devices to monitor based on acombination of user input and automatic detection based on device type.For example, the user may indicate an interest in monitoring the user'smobile phone, such as via the user's account interface. The computingdevice may determine whether the user's mobile phone is a userinteraction device. If the user's mobile phone is a user interactiondevice, the computing device may determine to monitor the mobile phone(step 310: Yes). If the user's mobile phone is not a user interactiondevice, the computing device may reject the user's request to monitorthe mobile phone (step 310: No) and transmit a message to the userindicating the rejection. Alternatively, the computing device maytransmit a message to the user indicating that the mobile phone is not auser interaction device and give the user the option to neverthelessmonitor the mobile phone. If the user responds to the message indicatinginterest in monitoring the mobile phone, the computing device maydetermine to monitor the mobile phone (step 310: Yes).

If the first device is to be monitored (step 310: yes), the computingdevice may request and/or otherwise receive the user's data usageinformation for the first device in step 315. The computing device mayreceive the usage information from the first device. For example, thecomputing device may transmit a request for the usage information to thefirst device, and the first device may respond to the request withhistorical data usage information of the user on the first device. Thefirst device may also send user activity updates to the computing deviceperiodically or when they become available. Alternatively oradditionally, the user's data usage information for the first device maybe stored at another storage location, such as a local or networkedstorage location at home 102 or outside of the home, such as at centraloffice 103 (e.g., in one of servers 105, 106, or 107) or elsewhere innetwork 109. Accordingly, the computing device may transmit a requestfor the usage information for the first device to central office 103 ornetwork 109. One or more elements of central office 103 and/or network109 may respond to the request with the requested data usageinformation. In some aspects, the data usage information for the firstdevice may be stored as part of the user's data usage profile. Forexample, the service provider providing the monitoring service may alsoprovide content recommendation services. Thus, if data usage informationis collected for generating content recommendations for the user, thedata usage information may also be used for the monitoring service.

If the first device is not to be monitored (step 310: no), the computingdevice may determine whether to monitor the usage of a second device instep 320. If the second device is to be monitored (step 320: yes), thecomputing device may receive data usage information for the seconddevice in step 325. FIG. 3 illustrates obtaining user data usageinformation for two devices. However, data usage information may becollected for any number of sources and/or devices, such as the user'sPC, mobile phone, STB, television, remote control, etc. Data usagetracked may include the user's content viewing habits, including theuser's viewing activity on various devices (e.g., television 112,computer 114, etc.). As will be described in further detail in theexamples below, the computing device may track programs and/or channelsthat the user tunes to, when various devices are turned on or off, andother interactions with the various devices. As described in theexamples above, the user might be required to authorize collection ofthe user's data usage information before the computing device beginstracking the user's pattern.

The computing device may track and/or receive access information on theuser's television 112 viewing patterns. For example, gateway 111 ormodem 110 may receive television viewing data from television 112 or STB113 and monitor the received data for deviations. Alternatively oradditionally, the user's data usage may be transmitted to a computingdevice at local office 103 (e.g., push server 105, content server 106,app server 107, etc.) by each viewing or consumption device (e.g., TV112, STB 113, PC 114, etc.), and the computing device at the localoffice 103 may perform the monitoring. The computing device (at home 102or local office 103) may also track and/or receive data usage on theuser's online (e.g., Internet) activity. As previously described, theuser's data usage may be tracked across any device, including STBs,gateways, mobile devices, etc.

The computing device may track when the user signs onto a serviceprovider account, such as an account provided by a televisionprogramming service provider, an internet service provider, a cellularservice provider, etc. In some instances, the television serviceprovider, the internet service provider, and/or the cellular serviceprovider may be the same entity. The service provider(s) may provide thesafety monitoring system that will be described in further detail in theexamples below. The user may sign on to the service provider account by,for example, providing credentials (e.g., username, password, and/orother unique identifier) through a user interface. The interface may bea programming guide that displays program (e.g., television show, movie,etc.) schedules, a web browser, a webpage interface (e.g., a webpageassociated with the service provider, such as a sign on webpage), anapplication window (e.g., a mobile application configured to run on amobile device, such as a smartphone, or other device applicationinterfaces), etc.

The user may also be signed on automatically, such as when the userpowers on the television, STB, mobile phone, computer, etc. and a storedcopy of the user's credentials is used to sign the user on. Thus, insome instances, powering on the television or STB may indicate a sign onactivity. The user may also be signed on automatically when the usernavigates to a sign on page (e.g., displayed at a webpage, programguide, etc.), opens an application window (e.g., a mobile applicationwindow, a PC application window, including a web browser, etc.), etc.The computing device may store, in the user's data usage pattern,timestamps indicating the time that the tracked activity (e.g., a signon event) occurred. For example, the message transmitted by a userdevice to the computing device may indicate the activity, time ofactivity, and device that the activity occurred on (e.g., {SIGNON, 4:10PM, STB1} if the user signs on to an account at 4:10 PM from the user'sSTB).

The computing device may similarly track the user's sign off activity.For example, the computing device may determine when the user signs offof the user's account and may store, in the user's data usage pattern,timestamps indicating the time that the tracked activity (e.g., a signoff event) occurred. Sign off events may occur, for example, when theuser clicks a “sign off” or equivalent button, when the user powers offthe television and/or STB, when the user navigates away from a pageassociated with the account (e.g., a user account webpage, a serviceprovider webpage, an account page on a program guide, etc.), closes anapplication window, etc.

The computing device may also generate the user's data usage patternbased on many pieces of television viewing information, includingtelevision and/or programming access and access times associated withthe television programming. For example, the computing device maydetermine when the television 112 or programming device associated withthe television (e.g., STB 113) is powered on or off and generate and/orstore a time indicator (e.g., a timestamp) for the power on or power offevent in the user's data usage pattern. The message transmitted by auser device to the computing device may indicate the activity, time ofactivity, and device that the activity occurred on (e.g., {POWERON,10:00 PM, TV2} if the user turns on the TV in the bedroom (TV2) at 10:00PM). The computing device may similarly determine when the television orprogramming device associated with the television switches from areduced-power state (e.g., a sleep state) to a normal state (e.g., astate that enables users to view programs, switch channels, etc.) orfrom a normal state to a reduced-power state. Time indicators for devicestate changes may be stored and/or used to generate the user's datausage pattern. For example, the message transmitted by a user device tothe computing device may indicate the activity, time of activity, anddevice that the activity occurred on (e.g., {REDUCEDPWR-TO-NORMALPWR,4:10 PM, TV1} if the TV in the user's living room (TV1) switches fromreduced-power mode to a normal mode at 4:10 PM). In some instances, achange from a reduced-power state to a normal state may indicate apower-on (e.g., of a television, STB, etc.) event, and a change from anormal state to a reduced-power state may indicate a power-off event. Insome instances, the computing device might track device power on and/orpower off and state change events only while the user is signed on to anaccount associated with the monitoring system.

The computing device may also track the user's interactions with thetelevision, the STB, a programming guide, particular programs, etc. Thetypes of interactions tracked may include activity occurring between apower-on event and a power-off event. For example, the computing devicemay track the user's physical access commands with a television, STB,and/or remote control. Physical access commands include, but are notlimited to, the user pressing (or otherwise actuating) buttons on thetelevision and/or remote control (e.g., power buttons, number padbuttons, menu buttons, multifunction buttons, etc.), and the userproviding voice commands provided to a television and/or remote controlenabled to receive voice commands (e.g., a voice command to power on/offthe television, a voice command to switch channels, etc.). The computingdevice may store, in the user's data usage pattern, timestampsindicating the time that the tracked activity (e.g., physical accesscommands) occurred. For example, the message transmitted by a userdevice to the computing device may indicate the activity, time ofactivity, and device that the activity occurred on (e.g.,{CHANNELCHANGE, 4:10 PM, STB1} if the user switches channels on STB1 at4:10 PM or {REMOTECONTROL, 7:00 AM, TV1} if the user uses a remotecontrol to control TV1 in some way at 7:00 AM). In some instances, thecomputing device might track the user's physical interactions with thetelevision and/or remote control only while the user is signed on to anaccount associated with the monitoring system.

The computing device may similarly track the user's interactions with adevice (e.g., television, computer, mobile device, etc.) interface(e.g., a graphical user interface). For example, the computing devicemay track the user's interactions with a television programming guide.The computing device may also track the user's interactions withnetworked data, such as a webpage. For example, the computing device maytrack when the user accesses a webpage (e.g., navigates to the webpage)or leaves a webpage (e.g., navigates away from the webpage). Thecomputing device may store, in the user's data usage pattern, timestampsindicating the time that the tracked activity (e.g., interactions withthe interface, such as accessing the interface) occurred. For example,the message transmitted by a user device to the computing device mayindicate the activity, time of activity, and device that the activityoccurred on (e.g., {PROGRAMGUIDE, 4:10 PM, STB1} if any activity withthe program guide provided by STB1 is detected at 4:10 PM or{EXITWEBPAGE1, 5:00 PM, PC1} if PC1 detects that the user has leftwebpage1 at 5:00 PM, such as by closing the web browser or browsing toanother webpage). In some instances, the computing device might trackthe user's interactions with the interface only while the user is signedon to an account associated with the monitoring system.

The computing device may also track events of the user switchingchannels. In some instances, the computing device may track the averagenumber of times that a user changes channels over a predetermined periodof time. For example, if the computing device tracks the user's channelswitching activity over a period of three days and determines that theuser changed channels five times between 2 PM and 3 PM on Monday, sixtimes between 2 PM and 3 PM on Tuesday, and seven times between 2 PM and3 PM on Wednesday, the computing device might determine that the averagenumber of times that the user changes channels from 2 PM to 3 PM is sixtimes. The computing device may store, in the user's data usage pattern,timestamps indicating the observed time period (e.g., 2 PM to 3 PM) andthe associated number of channel changes (e.g., 6). For example, themessage transmitted by a user device to the computing device mayindicate the activity, amount of activity, start time of activity, endtime of activity, and device that the activity occurred on (e.g.,{CHANNELSWITCH, 6, 2 PM, 3 PM, STB1} if the user switches channels onSTB1 six times from 2 PM to 3 PM, on a particular day or on average). Insome instances, the computing device might track the user's channelswitching activity only while the user is signed on to an accountassociated with the monitoring system.

The computing device may also track specific channels that the usertunes to. For example, the user may typically tune to movie channel 1 at8 PM on Tuesdays, and the computing device might store this activity inthe user's data usage pattern. The stored activity information mightinclude a unique identifier for movie channel 1 (e.g., a channel name,channel number, or other channel ID) and timestamp(s) indicating thetime that the user tunes to movie channel 1. For example, the messagetransmitted by a user device to the computing device may indicate theactivity, time and/or date of activity, and device that the activityoccurred on (e.g., {MOVIECHANNEL1, 8:00 PM, TUES, STB1} if the usertunes to movie channel 1 at 8 PM on Tuesdays). In some instances, thecomputing device might track when the user switches to particularchannels only while the user is signed on to an account associated withthe monitoring system.

The computing device may also track instances of the user tuning toparticular programs. The computing device may determine that the usertunes to a particular program by determining the time that the usertunes to a particular channel and determining whether the time that theuser tunes to the channel is within a predetermined time period of astart time for the program. For example, if SEINFELD is scheduled tostart on Mondays at 4 PM and the user tunes to the channel deliveringSEINFELD within a predetermined time period (e.g., +/−10 minutes of 4PM), the computing device may store the activity as an instance oftuning to SEINFELD. The computing device may store, in the user's datausage pattern, a unique identifier for the particular program (e.g., aprogram name, such as SEINFELD, a program identifier (PID), etc.) andtimestamp(s) indicating the time that the user tunes to the particularprogram. For example, the message transmitted by a user device to thecomputing device may indicate the activity, time and/or date ofactivity, and device that the activity occurred on (e.g., {SEINFELD,4:00 PM, MON, STB1} if the user tunes to SEINFELD on STB1 at 4 PM onMondays or {SEINFELD, STB1} if the computing device knows that SEINFELDairs at 4 PM on Mondays, such as by accessing a programming schedule).In some instances, the computing device might track when the userswitches to particular programs only while the user is signed on to anaccount associated with the monitoring system.

The computing device may also track instances of when the user schedulesprogram recordings (e.g., to store at a DVR, at a network DVR, or atanother local or network storage location). The computing device mayalso track instances of when the user requests data. Requests mayinclude, for example, requests for specific content (e.g., televisionshows, movies, etc.) recorded by the user and/or other content directlyavailable from the service provider (e.g., live or recorded streamingvideo and/or audio content, downloaded video and/or audio content,etc.). The computing device may store, in the user's data usage pattern,timestamps indicating the time that the tracked activity (e.g.,scheduled program recordings and/or requests for data) occurred. Forexample, the message transmitted by a user device to the computingdevice may indicate the activity, time and/or date of activity, anddevice that the activity occurred on (e.g., {RECORDPROGRAM, 8:00 PM,DVR1} if the user schedules a program recording on DVR1 at 8:00 PM). Insome instances, the computing device might track scheduled programrecordings or requests for data only while the user is signed on to anaccount associated with the monitoring system.

The computing device may track and/or receive access information on theuser's application activity, including the user's mobile applicationactivity (e.g., an application on the user's mobile device, such as asmartphone). As previously described, the computing device may track theuser's sign on and/or sign off activity. The computing device may alsotrack when the user starts an application program (e.g., by opening anapplication window or otherwise initiating the application program torun) and/or ends the application program (e.g., by closing theapplication window or otherwise causing the application to stoprunning). For example, the computing device may determine that the usertypically opens a crossword puzzle application on the user's device(e.g., a smartphone) at 8 AM on Saturdays and closes the application at9 AM. The computing device may store, in the user's data usage pattern,timestamps indicating the time that the tracked activity (e.g., startingand/or ending an application) occurred. For example, the messagetransmitted by a user device to the computing device may indicate theactivity, activity start time, activity end time, activity date, anddevice that the activity occurred on (e.g., {CROSSWORDAPP, 8:00 AM, 9:00AM, SAT, SMARTPHONE} if on Saturdays the user opens a crossword app fromthe user's smartphone at 8:00 AM and closes it at 9:00 AM). In someinstances, the computing device might track the user's applicationactivity only while the user is signed on to an account associated withthe monitoring system.

The computing device may collect the user's data viewing information forthe various devices over a period of time (e.g., days, weeks, months,etc.). In step 330, the computing device may determine whether thevarious activities are user activity or automatic activity. Useractivity may include activity that generally requires initiation by theuser (e.g., via user command or input). Any of the previously describedactivities received by the computing device (e.g., in steps 315 and 320)may be considered user activities. For example, switching channels onthe user's STB is an example of user activity. Automatic activity, onthe other hand, may include activity that occurs automatically, withoutuser input or command. For example, the user's mobile phone mayperiodically pull emails, text messages, or other data from an externalserver without requiring a user command. External servers may alsoautomatically push data to the user's devices through a gateway at theuser's home without user input. Similarly, the user's personal computer,laptop, etc. might receive automatic updates to various applicationsand/or operating systems. Recurring program recordings to a localstorage device (e.g., a DVR) might also be automatic activity, such aswhen the user sets up periodic recordings for a TV series that runsevery week.

The computing device may distinguish between user and automaticactivity. The user may indicate which activity should be considered useractivity via the user's service provider account. For example, the usermay indicate switching channels on a STB, logging on to a serviceprovider account on a mobile phone or PC, and powering on variousdevices as user activity. The computing device may identify all otheractivity as automatic activity. The computing device may alsodistinguish between user activity and automatic activity without userdesignation. Activities that occur at the same exact time each day ofthe week (or each week of the month, etc.) may be considered automaticactivity. For example, if the operating system on the user's PC isconfigured to automatically download updates at 3 AM each Tuesday, thecomputing device may recognize the updates as occurring at exactly 3 AMeach Tuesday and determine that the updates are automatic activity. Thecomputing device may also query a database storing an activity listidentifying activities as either user activity or automatic activity.The database may be stored, for example, at central office 103.

In step 335, the computing device may identify a baseline data usage.The baseline data usage may be, for example, the amount of automaticdata usage averaged over a period of a day. The baseline data usage mayalso differ during each stage of the day. For example, if the user hasscheduled recurring program recordings for several programs between 6 PMand 8 PM each day, the baseline data usage may be higher for the 6 PM to8 PM timeframe than other times during the day.

In step 340, the collected information may be used to generate theuser's data usage pattern, which may represent the user's expected dataviewing pattern. The generated pattern may depend on specific types ofdata usage. For example, the computing device may determine that theuser, on average, tunes to channel 1 at 6:05 PM by collecting data onthe user's television activity over a period of weeks, months, etc., andstore this activity in the user's data usage pattern. The computingdevice may similarly generate the pattern based on the user's otheractivity (e.g., mobile app usage, account sign on, etc.).

Additionally or alternatively, the computing device might notdistinguish between different types of activity (e.g., account signon/sign off activity, device power on/power off activity, the user'saccess commands, etc.), but instead determine the total amount of dataused by one or more monitored devices. For example, the computing devicemight be gateway 111, modem 110, or any other device that interfacesvarious user devices with an external network (e.g., central office 103and/or network 109). The interface device may track the amount of datatransferred between the user's devices and the external network andgenerate the pattern based on the tracked amount of data. For example,the interface device may track the amount of data downloaded by the userdevices from the network and/or uploaded by the user devices to thenetwork.

FIGS. 9A-C illustrate example data usage patterns generated and/orstored by the computing device according to one or more illustrativeaspects of the disclosure. To generate the illustrated usage patterns,the computing device may determine the amount of data (e.g., inmegabytes, gigabytes, etc.) that the user uses across all of the user'smonitored devices. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9A, the computingdevice may track the user's continuous data usage 905 over a period of aday. Additionally or alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 9B, thecomputing device may identify discrete points 915 during the day thatthe user accesses data. The discrete points 915 may correspond to thecontinuous data graph of data usage 905 sampled at predetermined timeperiods (e.g., every ten minutes, thirty minutes, etc.).

Additionally or alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 9C, the computingdevice might not track the amount of data used, but rather, trackinstances where the data usage is above a predetermined threshold. Insome examples, the predetermined threshold may be the baseline datausage determined by the computing device in step 335. Because automaticactivities generally do not require user input, the predeterminedthreshold may be the expected or average amount of data usage for theautomatic activities (e.g., a baseline data usage as determined in step335).

When the aggregate data usage of the user's devices is above thepredetermined threshold 910, the computing device may indicate anexpectation 935 that the user uses at least one device. For example, a“1” (or HI) may indicate that user activity is expected, whereas a “0”(of LOW) may indicate that user activity is not expected. The computingdevice may generate a continuous data usage pattern out of expectationpoints 935. Alternatively, the computing device may identify discretepoints 935, as illustrated in FIG. 9C, of expected user activity over aperiod of a day. The computing device may sample (e.g., every 10minutes, thirty minutes, etc.) a continuous data usage graph to identifydiscrete points 935. The daily data usage patterns of FIGS. 9A-C may begenerated by tracking the user's data usage over a period of months,weeks, or years. The computing device may similarly generate data usagepatterns for each day of the week.

In step 345, the computing device may determine various parameters forgenerating alerts. For example, the computing device may determine whatconstitutes a deviation from the user's expected data usage. Deviationsmay be based on a comparison of expected time of user activity andactual time of user activity.

FIG. 10A illustrates an example time window for detecting data usagedeviations according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure. The user's pattern may indicate an expected activity 1005 at6:12 PM. As previously discussed, the expected activity may be aspecific type of activity (e.g., channel change, account sign on, etc.)or any activity. The computing device may be configured to provide atime buffer 1010 for the actual activity to occur. For example, the timebuffer may be 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after 6:12 PM. If useractivity is not detected between 5:57 PM and 6:27 PM, the computingdevice may determine that a deviation from the user's historicalactivity pattern has occurred. The time thresholds before and after theexpected activity at 6:12 PM may be different. For example the timethreshold before 6:12 PM may be 30 minutes and the time threshold after6:12 PM may be 15 minutes. Thus, if user activity is not detectedbetween 5:42 PM and 6:27 PM, the computing device may determine that adeviation has occurred.

FIG. 10B illustrates another example time window for detecting datausage deviations according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure. In some embodiments, two instances of user activity 1015 and1020 may occur relatively close in time. For example, user activity maybe close in time if they are within a predetermined time threshold. Thetime threshold may be the same or different from the threshold used as atime buffer for detecting actual user activity. For example, the timebuffer 1025 may be 15 minutes. If two instances of user activity occurwithin 15 minutes of each other, the computing device may determine thatthe two instances occur relatively close in time. The computing devicemight generate a single time window to detect user activity based on thetwo instances of user activity. For example, the time window may be 15minutes before the first expected activity 1015 and 15 minutes after thesecond expected activity 1020. In some embodiments, the computing devicemight expect at least two instances of user activity to occur between5:57 PM and 6:35 PM. If at least two instances of activity do not occurduring this time window, the computing device may determine that adeviation has occurred and generate a message (such as an alertmessage). In other embodiments, the computing device might expect atleast one instance of user activity to occur during this time window. Ifat least one instance of activity does not occur during this timewindow, the computing device may determine that a deviation has occurredand generate an alert. In some examples, the time windows may be userconfigurable via the user's account. For example, the account interfacemay include entry fields for the user to provide various time thresholdsas previously discussed.

In step 350, the computing device may determine parameters forgenerating exceptions to alerts. The monitored user (or other authorizednotification recipients) may create exceptions to the monitoring. Forexample, if the monitored user knows that he or she will be travelingfor the next four days, the user may turn off alerts for the next fourdays. The user may indicate these exceptions through the user's serviceprovider account. The monitored user may also configure the computingdevice to stop sending alerts if a deviation has occurred, but thecomputing device has since detected user activity. For example, if useractivity was expected between 6:15 PM and 6:30 PM, but no activity wasdetected, the computing device might nevertheless decide not to send analert if user activity is detected at 6:35 PM and 6:35 PM is before thealert is sent. As another example, if the computing device expects onetype of user activity, but detects a different type of user activity,the computing device might decide not to send an alert. For example, ifthe user's data pattern indicates a channel change between 5:45 PM and6:15 PM, but instead detects use of a mobile app on the user's phone,the computing device may decide not to send an alert.

In step 355, the computing device may determine the information to beincluded in the alerts. In some instances, the alert to the monitoreduser or notification recipient might only indicate that a deviation hasoccurred. For example, an alert may state: “A deviation from FIRSTUSER'sroutine has occurred.” In other instances, the alert might indicate thata deviation has occurred and also the time of the deviation. Forexample, if the first user failed to tune to Channel A at 7:00 PM asexpected, the alert might state: “A deviation from FIRSTUSER's routineoccurred at 7:00 PM.” In additional instances, the alert might alsoindicate the specific anomaly. For example, if the monitored user failedto tune to SEINFELD at 7:00 PM as expected, the alert might state:“FIRSTUSER did not tune to SEINFELD at 7:00 PM as expected.” Themonitored user may configure the amount of information to provide in thealert messages to the second user by, for example, adjusting privacysettings on the user's account (e.g., by selecting one of the threeoptions previously described).

In step 360, the computing device may identify notification recipientsof alert messages and the order in which each notification recipientreceives alert messages, as will be described in further detail withrespect to FIG. 4. In step 405, the computing device may receive arequest to add a message recipient (e.g., a recipient of alertmessages). The message recipients may include the subject beingmonitored and/or other users caring for the subject being monitored(e.g., family members, caregivers, physicians, etc.). In step 410, thecomputing device may determine whether the request is to add themonitored user as a message recipient. For example, the computing devicemay determine that the request is for adding the monitored user if therequest originated from the monitored user (e.g., via the monitoreduser's account) and/or indicates an identifier unique to the monitoreduser (e.g., an account name/number, email address, telephone number,etc.).

If the request is to add a user other than the monitored user as amessage recipient (step 410: no) such as a caregiver, the computingdevice, in step 415, may attempt to authorize and/or authenticate therequesting message recipient. For example, a family member may inputinformation identifying the monitored user, such as via a serviceprovider account accessible by the family member. The family member may,for example, provide the service provider with the monitored user'semail address, service provider account, or other unique identifier. Theservice provider may notify the monitored user that the family memberrequests authorization to receive messages on the monitored user's datausage deviations. If the monitored user authorizes the family member,such as by responding to the authorization request that the familymember may receive messages, the computing device may configure thefamily member up as a message recipient.

In step 420, the computing device may identify devices to send messagesto. The devices may be devices used, owned, or otherwise associated withmessage recipients if the message recipients have been authorized toreceive messages. The monitored user may be preauthorized to receivemessages (step 410: yes), whereas other message recipients may need tobe authorized (e.g., in step 415). Messages may be transmitted tovarious devices, including wireless devices (e.g., cellular telephones,such as smartphones, and other mobile devices), computers (e.g., laptopcomputers, tablet computers, desktop computers, etc.), STBs and/ortelevisions.

In step 425, the computing device may determine the types of alerts tosend. The types of alerts may depend on the types of devices assigned toreceive the alert messages. For example, if a message recipient's PC isconfigured to receive messages, the computing device may send an emailmessage. Alert messages may be of many other forms, including, but notlimited to, text messages, messages displayed on an application orwebpage, an email message, a message displayed on the television, suchas a pop up message, a message on the program guide, etc. Alert messagesmay be push notifications from one or more service provide server, sothat the recipient of the alert message might not need to periodicallypull messages from the server. The message may also be a telephone call.For example, the computing device may initiate a telephone call to oneor more designated devices, such as the user's mobile phone.

The devices to receive messages may be indicated with the request to adda user as a message recipient. For example, the monitored user mayprovide information identifying one or more devices to a serviceprovider through the monitored user's account(s). The computing devicemay generate and/or otherwise provide a user interface having one ormore entry fields that permit the monitored user to indicate thedevices. For example, the monitored user may input the telephone numberof his or her mobile phone into the user interface in order to receivetext messages and/or telephone call alerts. The monitored user maysimilarly authorize one or more televisions and/or computers to receivemessages by inputting identifiers for the televisions and/or computers(e.g., a computer name, a television name, IP address, MAC address,etc.). The monitored user may also authorize one or more email accountsand/or service provider accounts to receive messages by, for example,inputting email addresses or account identifiers (e.g., an accountnumber) into the user interface. In some instances, the service provideraccount may be configured to receive messages when the monitored usersigns onto the account and/or indicates that the account is authorizedto receive messages (e.g., by checking an “alert me of problems” box).Any device capable of accessing the monitored user's email accountand/or service provider account may then be authorized to access and/orreceive messages. Requests from message recipients other than themonitored user may indicate devices to receive messages in a similarmanner as that described above.

In step 430, the computing device may determine relative prioritiesamong devices and/or message recipients to receive messages. Forexample, the monitored user, a first message recipient, and a secondmessage recipient may be authorized to receive alert messages. Thecomputing device may determine to send a first message to the monitoreduser and subsequently send a second message to the first messagerecipient if the monitored user does not respond to the first message. Athird message may also be sent to the second message recipient, eithersimultaneously with the second message or after the second message(e.g., if the first message recipient does not respond to the secondmessage). Thus, the monitored user may be prioritized above the firstand second message recipients, and the first message recipient may be atthe same level as or prioritized above the second message recipient.

The computing device may similarly determine relative priorities amongvarious registered devices. For example, the computing device may beconfigured to transmit the alert message to the device that themonitored user was expected to use. For example, if the user's datausage pattern indicates that the user should have switched channels onthe monitored user's television between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM, thecomputing device may transmit the alert message for display on thetelevision at 6:00 PM or a predetermined time thereafter (e.g., 6:05PM). This feature may be beneficial if the monitored user watchedtelevision between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM, but did not switch channels asexpected, and thus the likelihood that the alert message will be read bythe monitored user increases. In this example, the device that themonitored user was expected to use is prioritized over other devices.

The computing device may also be configured to transmit the alertmessage to the device(s) that the monitored user was not expected touse. For example, if the user's data viewing pattern indicates that theuser should have signed on to the user's account on the user'stelevision between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM, the computing device maytransmit the alert message for display on the user's computer and/ormobile phone or initiate an alert call to the user's phone. This aspectmay be beneficial if the user is using another one of the user's devices(e.g., a computer or a mobile phone) instead of the device the user wasexpected to use (e.g., a television). This feature too may increase thelikelihood that the user receives and/or reads the message in a timelymanner. In this example, a device that the monitored user was notexpected to use is prioritized over other devices.

The alert message may be configured to be transmitted to multipledevices (sequentially or simultaneously), such as all of the monitoreduser's devices and/or a message recipient's devices. Alert messagesreceived by a device may be displayed on the device, such as on theuser's television (e.g., as a scrolling or pop-up message on aprogramming guide), a computer (e.g., as a message displayed by anapplication on the computer or as a message transmitted to the user'semail account), or a mobile device (e.g., as a text message).

In step 435, the computing device may store the alert configurations inan alert table. The alert table may include identifiers for authorizedmessage recipients (e.g., the monitored user and other messagerecipients), devices associated with each authorized message recipientto receive messages, types of alerts to send to each device, and/or themessage priorities (e.g., order of devices and/or message recipients tosend messages to). The message configuration steps of FIG. 4 may beperformed at any time and may be performed several times (e.g., ifmultiple users request to receive messages or if a user must renew theuser's authorization to receive messages). In some embodiments, thecomputing device may perform one or more of these steps in response toreceiving a request from the monitored user or a prospective messagerecipient.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method of monitoring for a data usagedeviation according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure. The method may be performed by any monitoring computingdevice, such as a personal computer in the home, the gateway or cablemodem mentioned above, or any other device. Generally, the computingdevice may compare the user's current data usage to the user's expecteddata usage pattern and/or determine whether the user's current datausage deviates from the expected data usage pattern by a predeterminedamount. The comparison and determination may be based on one or more ofthe collected pieces of information stored as the user's data usagepattern.

In step 505, the computing device may identify an expected time ofactivity. The computing device may retrieve the next expected time ofactivity from the monitored user's stored data usage pattern. Forexample, if it is 6:00 PM, the computing device may search the user'sdata usage pattern for the next expected activity, which may be achannel change from the user's remote control, television, or STB at6:20 PM. The computing device may also retrieve time thresholdinformation from the data usage pattern or another database that storesconfiguration information (e.g., as determined and/or stored in step345). For example, the computing device may determine that the thresholdis +/−15 minutes, such that the computing device will watch for useractivity between 6:05 PM and 6:35 PM. The computing device may also setan activity flag, the activity flag representing that activity isexpected but has not yet occurred.

In step 510, the computing device may determine whether the time window(e.g., 6:20 PM+/−15 minutes) has passed. If the time is 6:13 PM, thecomputing device may determine that the current time is still within thetime window (step 510: no). In step 515, the computing device mayreceive information on the user's current data usage (e.g., activity,time of activity, etc.). The information may be transmitted in a similarmanner as previously described with respect to steps 315 and 325(receiving information used to generate the user's usage pattern). Forexample, the computing device may query one or more monitored devices ata user location (e.g., devices within the user's home 102 a or portabledevices carried by the user within or outside home 102 a) for currentdata usage information. The computing device may receive responsemessages from one or more devices. For example, as previously described,the computing device may receive a message, such as {SIGNON, 4:05 PM,STB1} indicating that the user signed on to the user's STB at 4:05 PM.The computing device may also receive one or more messages indicatingall instances of user activity detected prior to the time of the requestfor current usage information and within a predetermined time frame. Forexample, the computing device may transmit a request for user activityat 6:13 AM. The request may also indicate a time window for activity,such as 6 hours from the time of the request (e.g., all user activityoccurring between 12:13 PM and 6:13 PM), and ask the correspondingdevice to report all logged activity in that time window. In response tothe request, the computing device may receive, from the user'sdevice(s), a first message, {SIGNON, 4:05 PM, STB1}, and a secondmessage, {POWERON, 3:00 PM, TV2}, if the devices at the user's home onlydetected 2 instances of activity occurring between 12:13 PM and 6:13 PM.

In some examples, the user's monitored device(s) may transmit message(s)indicating the user's current data usage activity without firstreceiving a request from a computing device at local office 103. A userdevice may transmit a message when it detects some form of useractivity. For example, laptop computer 115 may transmit a message,{APPLICATIONOPEN, 8:13 PM, LAPTOP1}, when it detects that the user hasopened (or otherwise initiated) an application on the user's laptop 1. Auser device may also transmit a message when it does not detect useractivity. For example, the user device may keep track of the user'sexpected activity (e.g., by storing a copy of the user's data usagepattern). When the user device determines that user activity wasexpected to occur at a particular time, but no user activity occurred atthat time (or within a predetermined time threshold of that time), theuser device may transmit a message indicating that no user activityoccurred. A user device may also periodically transmit messagesindicating user activity/non-activity to the computing device (e.g.,every 5 minutes, every 10 minutes, etc.).

The requested current data usage information may be transmittedindividually by each of the user's devices. For example, if useractivity occurred at the user's TV 112 and STB 113, TV 112 and STB 113may individually transmit, to the computing device, messages indicatingthe user's activity on each user device. Alternatively, information onthe user's activity may be transmitted to the computing device by ashared device (e.g., a user device connected to each of the user's otherdevices, such as gateway 111).

In step 520, the computing device may determine whether the receivedinformation indicates any new activity. If no new activity has beenreceived (step 520: no), the computing device may return to step 510 todetermine whether the time window for detecting user activity haspassed. If new activity has been received (step 520: yes), the computingdevice may determine, in step 525, whether the new activity is automaticactivity or user activity. If the new activity is automatic activity(step 525: yes), the computing device may return to step 510 todetermine whether the time window has passed. Alternatively (oradditionally), the computing device may discard the received informationidentifying the automatic activity and/or request additional informationidentifying user activity from the device sending the original activityinformation or other devices associated with the user. For example, ifSTB 113 transmits user activity information that turns out to beautomatic (e.g., initiated by the STB 113 and not the user), thecomputing device may request user activity information from a differentSTB in addition to (or instead of) STB 113. If the new activity is notautomatic activity (e.g., is determined to be user activity), thecomputing device may reset the activity flag in step 530. Resetting theactivity flag may indicate that user activity was detected during thetime window identified in step 505. The computing device may distinguishbetween automatic and user activity as previously described above. Forexample, the computing device may determine whether the activity isautomatic or user-generated based on an indication by the user in theuser's account. The computing device may also query a database, such asone at central office 103, which identifies activities as eitheruser-generated or automatic.

The computing device might not distinguish between types of activity(e.g., account sign on/sign off activity, device power on/power offactivity, the user's access commands, etc.). For example, the computingdevice might determine (e.g., in step 505) that the next expectedactivity is a channel change from the user's remote control, television,or STB at 6:20 PM. However, the computing device might neverthelessreset the activity flag (e.g., in step 530) if the computing devicedetects any new user activity within the time window in steps 515-525.For example, the computing device may reset the activity flag if thecomputing device detects that the user powered on the user's televisionat 6:30 PM.

The computing device might distinguish between different types ofactivity. If activity A (e.g., a channel switching event) is expected ata particular time, the computing device may determine whether activity Aoccurs within a predetermined time window of the expected time. Thus, insome instances, the computing device might detect a deviation from theuser's expected pattern if activity A does not occur within thepredetermined time window, even if activity B (e.g., a device power onevent) occurs within the predetermined time threshold. Activity B mightbe automatic activity and/or other activity that do not require userinput. For example, activity B may be a lamp that is timed to turn on at7 AM each morning.

In step 510, the computing device may determine that the time window haspassed (step 510: yes). For example, if the time window spans from 6:05PM to 6:35 PM, and the current time is 6:35 PM, the computing device maydetermine that the time window has passed. In step 535, the computingdevice may determine whether the activity flag is still set. If theactivity flag is not set (e.g., has been reset), the computing devicemay determine that user activity was detected within the time windowexpecting user activity and return to step 505 to identify the nextexpected activity and a time for the next expected activity. If theactivity flag is still set (step 535: yes), the computing device maydetermine, in step 540, that a deviation from the user's expected datausage pattern has occurred. In other words, the computing device maydetermine that a deviation (e.g., anomaly) occurs when activity isexpected at a particular time or during a particular time frame (e.g.,based on the user's expected data usage pattern), but no activity isdetected within a predetermined time threshold of the expected time orwithin the expected time frame.

Additional examples of the computing device monitoring for and detectingan anomaly follow. The computing device may compare the time that theuser signs on to a service provider account to the time that the user isexpected to sign on to the account. Based on the comparison, thecomputing device may determine whether the user's current data usagedeviates from the user's expected data usage by a predeterminedthreshold amount. For example, assume that the user's data usage patternindicates that the user is expected to sign on to an account (e.g., viaa GUI displayed on a device) at 5:05 PM and that the threshold is 15minutes. If the user signs on at 5:10 PM, the computing device maydetermine that the user's current data usage does not deviate from theuser's expected usage pattern. If, on the other hand, the user does notsign on by 5:20 PM, the computing device may determine that a deviationexists (e.g., in step 540).

Similarly, the computing device may determine deviations from expectedsign off times. For example, assume that the user's data viewing patternindicates that the user is expected to sign off at 7:00 PM and that thethreshold is 15 minutes. If the user signs off of the account at 6:50PM, the computing device might determine that the user's current datausage does not deviate from the user's expected usage pattern. If, onthe other hand, the user does not sign off by 7:15 PM, the computingdevice may determine that a deviation exists (e.g., in step 540).

Device power on, power off, and/or state change activity may also bemonitored to determine user anomalies. For example, the computing devicemay compare the time that the user's television is powered on to thetime that the user's television is expected to be powered on (e.g., bycomparing a current time to a timestamp stored in the user's data usagepattern that indicates the expected time of power on). Based on thecomparison, the computing device may determine that the user's currentdata usage deviates from the user's data usage pattern by determiningthat the time that the user's television is activated deviates from thetime that the user's television is expected to be activated by at leasta predetermined threshold amount (e.g., in step 540). For example,assume that the user's data usage pattern indicates that the user isexpected to activate the television at 5:05 PM and that the threshold is15 minutes. If the user activates the television at 5:10 PM, thecomputing device might determine that the user's current data usage doesnot deviate from the user's expected usage pattern. If, on the otherhand, the user does not activate the television by 5:20 PM, thecomputing device may determine that a deviation exists.

Similarly, the computing device may determine deviations from expectedpower off times. For example, assume that the user's data usage patternindicates that the user is expected to power off the television at 7:00PM and that the threshold is 15 minutes. If the user turns off thetelevision at 6:50 PM, the computing device might determine that theuser's current data usage does not deviate from the user's expectedusage pattern. If, on the other hand, the user does not deactivate thetelevision by 7:15 PM, the computing device may determine that adeviation exists (e.g., in step 540).

The user's physical access commands to a television, STB, remotecontrol, and/or other devices (e.g., button presses, voice commands,etc.) may also be monitored to determine user anomalies. For example,the computing device may compare the time that a device (e.g., atelevision) expects to receive a command from the user to the currenttime and commands received at the current time. Based on the comparison,the computing device may determine (e.g., in step 540) that the user'scurrent data usage deviates from the user's data usage pattern if thecurrent time exceeds the expected time by a predetermined thresholdamount, but no command from the user has been received by a device(e.g., the television).

The user's interactions with a graphical user interface (e.g., aprogramming guide, a webpage, etc.) may also be monitored to determineuser anomalies. For example, the computing device may compare the time,as indicated in the user's data usage pattern, that the user is expectedto access or leave a webpage to the current time and any user webpageaccesses associated with the current time. Based on the comparison, thecomputing device may determine (e.g., in step 540) that the user'scurrent data usage deviates from the user's data usage pattern if thecurrent time exceeds the expected time by a predetermined thresholdamount, but the computing device has not detected that the user accessedor left the webpage.

The frequency that the user switches program channels may also bemonitored to determine user anomalies. For example, the computing devicemay compare the number of times that the user switched channels over aperiod of time to the expected number of times that the user switchedchannels as indicated in the user's data usage pattern. The computingdevice may detect a deviation from the user's data usage pattern (e.g.,in step 540) if, for example, the user only switches channels one timebetween 2 PM and 3 PM on Tuesday and the usage pattern indicates thatthe user is expected to switch channels six times between 2 PM and 3 PMand a threshold for deviation is four channel switches. In someembodiments, the threshold may be six channel changes, and an anomalymay be detected if the user has no channel switching activity from 2 PMto 3 PM on a particular Tuesday.

The channels and/or programs that the user tunes to may also bemonitored to determine user anomalies. For example, the computing devicemay compare the time that the user tunes to a particular channel and/orprogram to the time that the user is expected to tune to the particularchannel and/or program. Based on the comparison, the computing devicemay determine (e.g., in step 540) that the user's current data usagedeviates from the user's data usage pattern if the current time exceedsthe expected time by a predetermined threshold amount, but the user hasnot tuned to the channel and/or program as indicated in the user's datausage pattern.

Data recording and/or data (e.g., content) requests may also bemonitored to determine user anomalies. For example, the computing devicemay compare the time that the user records and/or requests content tothe time that the user is expected to record and/or request content(e.g., as indicated in the user's data usage pattern). Based on thecomparison, the computing device may determine that the user's currentdata usage deviates from the user's data usage pattern by determiningthat the time that the user records and/or requests content deviatesfrom the time that the user is expected to record and/or request contentby at least a predetermined threshold amount (e.g., in step 540). Forexample, assume that the user's data usage pattern indicates that theuser is expected to request content at 8:00 AM and that the threshold is20 minutes. If the user requests content at 7:50 AM, the computingdevice might determine that the user's current data usage does notdeviate from the user's expected usage pattern. If, on the other hand,the user does not request content by 8:20 AM, the computing device maydetermine that a deviation exists.

The user's application access activity (e.g., accessing a mobile app)may also be monitored to determine user anomalies. For example, thecomputing device may compare the time that the user accesses anyapplication on a mobile device (e.g., Application A, Application B,etc.) to the time that the user is expected to access an application(e.g., Application A). Based on the comparison, the computing device maydetermine (e.g., in step 540) that the user's current data usagedeviates from the user's data usage pattern if the current time exceedsthe expected time by a predetermined threshold amount, but the user hasnot accessed any application as indicated in the user's data usagepattern.

Because the system and method herein described monitors the user's datausage for deviations, the monitoring system may monitor the user'sactivity both while the user is inside of home 102 a (e.g., when theuser accesses data through STB 113) and while the user is outside ofhome 102 a (e.g., when the user accesses a wireless device 116, such asa mobile phone, and/or an application included on the wireless device).For example, the user's data usage pattern may indicate that the usertypically accesses a fitness workout mobile application between 6:00 AMand 7:00 AM. Accessing the fitness workout application may indicate, forexample, that the user goes for walks outside the home from 6:00 AM and7:00 AM. The computing device may determine that a deviation hasoccurred if the user does not access the fitness workout applicationbetween 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM. By monitoring the user's activity withinand outside home 102 a, the system and method herein described mayprovide more comprehensive health and safety monitoring for users (e.g.,senior citizens) than standalone senior monitoring systems availableonly within home 102 a.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example method of monitoring for a data usagedeviation according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure. The method may be performed by any monitoring computingdevice, such as a personal computer in the home, the gateway or cablemodem mentioned above, or any other device. In step 605, the computingdevice may determine a time window for detecting anomalies. Thecomputing device may query a database (e.g., an alert table) for apredetermined time window (e.g., a window of forty minutes).

FIG. 11 illustrates example time windows for detecting data usagedeviations according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure. The computing device may identify time window 1125 from theuser's profile or other database. In step 610, the computing device maydetermine, from the user's data usage pattern, that three useractivities 1105, 1110, and 1115 are expected to occur within the timewindow 1125. Another expected user activity 1120 may fall outside oftime window 1125. The computing device may also determine a thresholdnumber of activities for the computing device to determine that ananomaly has not occurred. In some embodiments, the threshold may matchthe number of expected user activities within the time window. Forexample, the computing device expects three user activities 1105, 1110,and 1115 to occur within time window 1125 and sets the threshold numberof activities to three. In step 610, the computing device may alsogenerate an activity counter to track the number of detected useractivities within the time window. If the threshold number of activitiesmatches the expected number of user activities during the time window,the computing device may set the initial activity counter to zero.

In other embodiments, the threshold might be different from the numberof expected user activities within the time window. The threshold may begreater than the expected number of user activities. If the threshold isgreater than the expected number of user activities, the computingdevice may set the activity counter to a number lower than zero. Forexample, if the expected number of user activities within the timewindow is three and the threshold is four, the computing device may setthe activity counter to negative one.

The threshold may also be less than the expected number of useractivities. A threshold less than the expected number during the timewindow may give the user, for example, one or more exceptions or freepasses before an alert is sent. If the threshold is less than theexpected number of user activities, the computing device may set theactivity counter to a number greater than zero. For example, if theexpected number of user activities within the time window is three andthe threshold is two, the computing device may set the activity counterto one.

In step 615, the computing device may determine whether the activitycounter matches the threshold number. If the activity counter does notmatch the threshold (step 615: no), the computing device may determinewhether the time window has passed (e.g., that the current time isoutside the time window) in step 620. If the current time is 6:30 PM andthe time window is from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the computing device maydetermine that the time window has not passed (step 620: no).

In step 625, the computing device may receive information on the user'scurrent data usage (e.g., activity, time of activity, etc.). Theinformation may be transmitted in a similar manner as previouslydescribed with respect to steps 515. For example, the computing devicemay query monitored devices for current data usage information andreceive response messages from the monitored devices in response to thequery. Alternatively or additionally, the monitored devices may transmitthe user's current data usage information without a request from thecomputing device, such as when the user device detects user activity onthe device or periodically transmit the user's data usage information.

In step 630, the computing device may determine whether the receiveddata usage information indicates any new activity. If no new activityhas been received (step 630: no), the computing device may return tostep 615 to determine whether the activity counter matches the thresholdnumber of activities. If new activity has been received (step 630: yes),the computing device may determine, in step 635, whether the newactivity is automatic activity or user activity. If the new activity isautomatic activity (step 635: yes), the computing device may return tostep 615 to determine whether the activity counter matches the thresholdnumber of activities. If the new activity is not automatic activity(e.g., is determined to instead be user activity), the computing devicemay increment the activity counter in step 640. Incrementing theactivity counter may indicate that user activity was detected during thetime window expecting user activity. The computing device maydistinguish between automatic activity and user activity as previouslydescribed.

The computing device may return to step 615 to determine if the activitycounter matches the threshold. If the activity counter matches thethreshold (step 615: yes), the computing device may determine that adeviation during the time window has not occurred. The computing devicemay reset the activity counter in step 645. However, if the activitycounter does not match the threshold (step 615: no) and the time windowhas passed (step 620: yes), the computing device may determine, in step650, that a deviation from the user's expected data usage pattern hasoccurred. If a deviation occurs, the computing device might send one ormore alerts for the deviation.

As previously described, the threshold may be less than the expectednumber of user activities. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 11, thecomputing device may expect three user activities 1105, 1110, and 1115within time window 1125. However, the threshold for the computing deviceto determine that no deviation has occurred may be two out of the threeexpected user activities. Thus, the computing device may permit onemissed activity. When the current time passes the expected time of thefirst user activity 1105 without detecting any current activity (asillustrated in the second time frame of FIG. 11), the computing devicemay excuse the first missed activity (e.g., not detect a deviation orsend an alert). On the other hand, when the current time passes thesecond user activity 1110 without detecting any current activity (asillustrated in the third time frame of FIG. 11), the computing devicemay determine that a deviation has occurred because two deviations haveoccurred, but the user was permitted to be excused for only onedeviation.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method of sending alerts according to oneor more illustrative aspects of the disclosure. The method may beperformed by any monitoring device, such as a personal computer in thehome, the gateway or cable modem mentioned above, or any other device.In step 705, the computing device may determine whether new useractivity has occurred since identifying the deviation (e.g., in step 540or 650). If new user activity has occurred (step 705: yes), thecomputing device may determine that the monitored user is okay (e.g.,active) and send a message to one or more devices (e.g., the monitoreduser's devices or other message recipient's devices) indicating so instep 760. The computing device may perform step 705 at any point whendetermining whether and what alert messages to send. For example, ifuser activity is detected after a first alert message is sent to adevice, the computing device may send a follow up status okay message tothe device because new user activity has been detected.

In step 710, the computing device may retrieve an identifier from analert table for a first device. As previously discussed, the alert tablemay store alert priorities. The alert table may indicate one of themonitored user's devices as the highest priority device (e.g., theuser's mobile phone if mobile phone activity was expected). Thus, thecomputing device may retrieve an identifier for the first device (e.g.,a telephone number of a mobile phone or MAC address of a television).The computing device may also retrieve information from the alert tableindicating the type of alert to send to the first device. For example,the alert table may indicate that a phone call alert should be sent tothe monitored user's mobile phone. The alert table may also indicatesecondary alert types, such as a text message for the mobile phone. Thesecondary alert types may be used if the primary alert type cannot besent.

In step 715, the computing device may send an alert message to the firstdevice. In some instances, the computing device may attempt to contactthe monitored user before contacting other message recipients. Thisfeature may be beneficial when the monitored user (e.g., a seniorcitizen) deviates from an expected data usage because the monitored userhas decided to deviate from the user's routine, not because there may behealth or safety issues with the user. Thus, the message sent in step715 may be sent to one or more devices associated with the monitoreduser. For example, the computing device may attempt to place anautomated call to the monitored user's mobile phone. If the call fails(e.g., goes directly to a voicemail box without ringing, etc.), thecomputing device may attempt the secondary alert type, such as sending atext message. The computing device may also decide to make both a callto the mobile phone and send a text message to the mobile phone.

The computing device may also determine the amount of information toinclude in the alert message based on user settings in the alert table.For example, the alert message might only indicate that a deviation hasoccurred (e.g., “A deviation from FIRSTUSER's routine has occurred”),might indicate that a deviation has occurred as well as the time of thedeviation (e.g., “A deviation from FIRSTUSER's routine occurred at 7:00PM”), or might indicate additional specifics of the deviation (e.g.,“FIRSTUSER did not tune to SEINFELD at 7:00 PM as expected”).

In step 720, the computing device may determine whether a response(e.g., a return text message, a return call, a reply email message, adefault return message, etc.) from the device(s) that was sent the firstalert message has been received. If the computing device receives aresponse (step 720: yes), the computing device may determine that themonitored user is okay and send a status okay message in step 760. Ifthe computing device has not received a response (step 720: no), thecomputing device, in step 725, may determine whether a first thresholdresponse time period has passed. If a response has not been receivedwithin the first threshold time period (step 725: yes), the computingdevice may determine that the user's health and/or safety may be atrisk. The first threshold time period may be, for example, 10 minutes.The time period may also be user-configurable. The monitored user mayset and/or adjust the predetermined time period by, for example, signingon to the user's service provider account and adjusting the user'smonitoring preferences.

In step 730, the computing device may retrieve an identifier from analert table for a second device. The second device may be a secondpriority device. The computing device may also determine the type ofalert to send to the second device. The type of alert may be indicatedin the alert table, such as an email, account message, phone call,television pop-up, etc. In step 735, the computing device may send thealert message to the second device.

The second device may be associated with an authorized message recipientdifferent from the monitored user. Alternatively, the second device maybe another device associated with the monitored user. For example, ifthe first alert message was sent to a device the user was expected, butfailed, to use during the time window (e.g., a television), thecomputing device may send the second alert message to another of themonitored user's devices, such as the user's mobile phone or PC. Thus,the monitored user may be given several chances to respond to alertmessages before the computing device starts sending messages to othermessage recipients, such as caregivers and family members.

In step 740, the computing device may determine whether a response fromthe device(s) that were sent the second alert message (e.g., another oneof the monitored user's devices) has been received. If the computingdevice receives a response (step 740: yes), the computing device maydetermine that the monitored user is okay and send a status okay messagein step 760. If the computing device has not received a response (step740: no), the computing device, in step 745, may determine whether asecond threshold response time period has passed. If a response has notbeen received within the second threshold time period (step 745: yes),the computing device may determine that the user's health and/or safetymay be at risk. The second threshold time period may be shorter than thefirst threshold time period, for example, 5 minutes.

If no response to the second message has been received (step 740: no)and the second time threshold has been exceeded (step 745: yes), thecomputing device may retrieve an identifier for a third device from analert table in step 750 and send an alert message to the third device instep 755. The third device may be associated with a caregiver, familymember, or other authorized message recipient. The computing device maysend messages to any number of devices, simultaneously or sequentiallybased on information stored in the alert table. For example, if thealert table indicates a sequence of five devices to send alert messagesto, the computing device may send five alert messages in sequence asdescribed with respect to FIG. 7. In some embodiments, the final messagemay be sent to a caregiver or emergency responders (e.g., a 911 call).If an alert message is sent to one of the monitored user's devices, thecomputing device may wait a predetermined amount of time for a response(e.g., steps 725 and 745) from the user before sending the next message.If a message is sent to an alert recipient different from the monitoreduser, the computing device might not wait for a response from themessage recipient before sending additional messages (e.g., to emergencyresponders).

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method of updating data usage deviationsystem parameters according to one or more illustrative aspects of thedisclosure. The method may be performed by any monitoring computingdevice, such as a personal computer in the home, the gateway or cablemodem mentioned above, or any other device.

In step 805, the computing device may determine whether a change in theuser's data usage pattern has occurred. If a change has occurred (step805: yes), the computing device may update the user's data usage patternin step 810. For example, the computing device may periodically updatethe user's data viewing pattern by receiving additional (e.g., updated)information on the user's data viewing habits and factoring the habitsinto the user's current data viewing pattern. The computing device mayalso update the user's data viewing pattern at irregular periods, suchas in response to detecting multiple deviations from the pattern. Forexample, the user's data usage pattern may indicate that the usertypically tunes to channel A at 2 PM on Tuesdays. If over apredetermined period of time (e.g., over a period of three weeks), thecomputing device detects that the user tunes to channel B at 2:55 PM onTuesdays, the computing device may update the user's data usage pattern(e.g., by indicating the user's expected viewing time for channel A tobe 2:55 PM, indicating the user's expected viewing time to be a weightedaverage time between 2 PM and 2:55 PM, etc.). Thus, based on heuristics,pattern modeling, etc., the computing device may keep the user's datausage pattern up-to-date based on changes to the user's activity.

In step 815, the computing device may determine whether there is achange in the user's devices to monitor. A change may occur if the useradds or removes one or more monitored devices via the user's account. Achange may also occur if one or more devices connect to the monitoringdevice (e.g., a gateway interface) or disconnect from the monitoringdevice for an extended period of time (e.g., weeks, months). If a changein devices is detected (step 815: yes), the computing device may updatethe list of user devices to monitor in step 820.

In step 825, the computing device may determine whether a change inalert configuration has occurred. Changes in alert configurationsinclude, for example, changes in the message recipients to receive alertmessages (e.g., a removal or addition of one or more messagerecipients), changes in devices to receive messages, changes in thetypes of alerts to send to send to the devices, changes in device and/oruser alert priority, and changes to the type of information to includein the alert messages. If a change in alert configurations is detected(step 830: yes), the computing device may update the alertconfigurations in step 830 (e.g., by modifying an alert table).

In step 835, the computing device may determine whether a change in timewindows, thresholds, and/or activity counters has changed. If a changein time windows, time thresholds, and/or activity counters has changed(step 835: yes), the computing device may update the time windows, timethresholds, and/or activity counters in the monitored user's profile instep 840. For example, a time window of +/−15 minutes may be updated toa time window of +/−5 minutes if desired by the monitored user,caregivers, family members, etc. They may indicate the new time windowvia an account with the service provider.

The various features described above are merely non-limiting examples,and can be rearranged, combined, subdivided, omitted, and/or altered inany desired manner. For example, features of the computing devicedescribed herein (which may be one of servers 105, 106, and/or 107) canbe subdivided among multiple processors and computing devices. The truescope of this patent should only be defined by the claims that follow.

I claim:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, from a gateway device, dataindicating data consumption associated with a user during a first timeperiod, wherein the data indicates data consumption associated with theuser across a plurality of devices in communication with the gatewaydevice; determining that the data consumption associated with the userduring the first time period is less than, by a threshold, a dataconsumption associated with the user during a second time periodcorresponding to the first time period, wherein the second time periodoccurs prior to the first time period; and based on the determining,sending an alert message to a second device.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the data consumption during the second time period comprises oneor more of television consumption activity associated with the user,internet activity associated with the user, or application softwareactivity associated with the user.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein:the data consumption during the second time period comprises activationof a display device during the second time period, and determining thatthe data consumption during the first time period is less than, by thethreshold, the data consumption during the second time period comprisesdetermining that the display device was not activated during the firsttime period.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein: the data consumptionduring the second time period comprises signing on to a service provideraccount associated with the user during the second time period, anddetermining that the data consumption during the first time period isless than, by the threshold, the data consumption during the second timeperiod comprises determining that a sign on to the service provideraccount associated with the user did not occur during the first timeperiod.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the dataconsumption during the first time period is less than, by the threshold,the data consumption during the second time period comprises determiningthat data has not been accessed by the user within the first timeperiod.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first time period and thesecond time period occur during a common time range on different days.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the second device is associated withthe user, the method further comprising: determining that a response tothe alert message has not been received within a period of time forresponse; and based on determining that the response to the alertmessage has not been received within the period of time for response,sending a second alert message to a third device, wherein the thirddevice is associated with a second user.
 8. A method comprising:receiving data indicating data consumption associated with a user acrossa plurality of devices during a first time period; comparing, by acomputing device, the data consumption associated with the user acrossthe plurality of devices during the first time period with dataconsumption associated with the user during a second time periodcorresponding to the first time period, wherein the second time periodoccurs prior to the first time period; based on the comparing,determining that the data consumption associated with the user acrossthe plurality of devices during the first time period is less than, by athreshold, the data consumption associated with the user during thesecond time period; and based on the determining, sending an alertmessage to a second device.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the dataconsumption during the second time period comprises one or more oftelevision consumption activity associated with the user, internetactivity associated with the user, or application software activityassociated with the user.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein: the dataconsumption during the second time period comprises activation of adisplay device during the second time period, and determining that thedata consumption associated with the user across the plurality ofdevices during the first time period is less than, by the threshold, thedata consumption during the second time period comprises determiningthat the display device was not activated during the first time period.11. The method of claim 8, wherein: the data consumption during thesecond time period comprises signing on to a service provider accountassociated with the user during the second time period, and determiningthat the data consumption associated with the user across the pluralityof devices during the first time period is less than, by the threshold,the data consumption during the second time period comprises determiningthat a sign on to the service provider account associated with the userdid not occur during the first time period.
 12. The method of claim 8,wherein determining that the data consumption associated with the useracross the plurality of devices during the first time period is lessthan, by the threshold, the data consumption during the second timeperiod comprises determining that data has not been accessed by the userwithin the first time period.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein thesecond device is associated with a second user and sending the alertmessage to the second device comprises sending a notification of a useranomaly to the second device.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein thesecond device is associated with the user, the method furthercomprising: determining that a response to the alert message has notbeen received within a period of time for response; and based ondetermining that the response to the alert message has not been receivedwithin the period of time for response, sending a second alert messageto a third device, wherein the third device is associated with a seconduser.
 15. A method comprising: receiving, from a gateway device, dataindicating a number of data accesses associated with a user during afirst time period, wherein the data indicates data accesses associatedwith the user across a plurality of devices in communication with thegateway device; determining that the number of data accesses associatedwith the user during the first time period is less than, by a threshold,a number of data accesses associated with the user during a second timeperiod corresponding to the first time period, wherein the second timeperiod occurs prior to the first time period; and based on thedetermining, sending an alert message to a second device.
 16. The methodof claim 15, wherein the data accesses associated with the user compriseone or more of accessing television data, accessing online data, oraccessing application data.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein: thedata accesses associated with the user during the second time periodcomprise activation of a display device during the second time period,and determining that the number of data accesses associated with theuser during the first time period is less than, by the threshold, thenumber of data accesses associated with the user during the second timeperiod comprises determining that the display device was not activatedduring the first time period.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein: thedata accesses by the user during the second time period comprise signingon to a service provider account associated with the user during thesecond time period, and determining that the number of data accessesassociated with the user during the first time period is less than, bythe threshold, the number of data accesses associated with the userduring the second time period comprises determining that a sign on tothe service provider account associated with the user did not occurduring the first time period.
 19. The method of claim 15, whereindetermining that the number of data accesses associated with the userduring the first time period is less than, by the threshold, the numberof data accesses associated with the user during the second time periodcomprises determining that data has not been accessed by the user withinthe first time period.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the seconddevice is associated with the user, the method further comprising:determining that a response to the alert message has not been receivedwithin a period of time for response; and based on the determining thatthe response to the alert message has not been received within theperiod of time for response, sending a second alert message to a thirddevice, wherein the third device is associated with a second user.